Live: Election Night 2018

November 6, 2018

Today’s the day. Polls are open in Vermont until 7 p.m. tonight. Throughout the day, The Campus staff will be reporting from different spots around Addison County and Vermont on voting news, election events and results as the evening progresses. Check out last week’s Election Issue for our coverage on the races to watch.

Election Night Results

ADDISON UPDATE: 11:06 pm

Democrats Ruth Hardy and Chris Bray were both declared winners of the local state senate race at 9 pm this evening. The announcement was followed by a joint speech, in which the two cited Universal Primary Healthcare, paid family leave and a comprehensive lake cleanup plan as the top priorities to tackle in Montpelier.

Hardy, a first-time elect, thanked her staff and husband, Jason Mittell, professor and chair of the Film & Media Culture department, for their support on the campaign trail. She spent the day visiting 10 of the 25 towns with campaign treasurer Dave Silberman. She drove from Huntington to Middlebury “blasting 80s tunes and dancing,” she said at the Middlebury Inn this evening.

Paul Forlenza, who’s on the Addison County Democratic Committee in Lincoln, Vt., was stationed at the corner of the Middlebury Inn, intermittently connecting his computer to the large TV in the room to broadcast up-to-date local election results.

“Town clerks report into candidates or somebody who’s close to a candidate in town,” Forlenza said.

Vermont House seats for Addison-3 were won by Democrats Diane Lanpher and Matt Birong by a narrow margin. Democrats Mari Cordes and Caleb Elder were also elected to Addison-4 with 26.5 percent and 29.1 percent of the vote, respectively.

“Yes! We have two Ds. Caleb and Mari have just won,” declared Dave Sharpe, the retiring legislative from Lincoln, Vt. to a packed crowd at the Middlebury Inn Tuesday night just before 9 pm.

STATE UPDATE: 10:46 pm

At the VT Dems event in Burlington this evening, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch were among the politicians to give speeches.

“Being the United States Senator from Vermont has been the honor of my life,” Sen. Sanders said during his speech this evening.

BENJY RENTONSenator Sanders takes pictures with the crowd in Burlington this evening.

Attorney General T.J. Donovan was re-elected for his second term. Jim Condos, the secretary of state, addressed the crowd just after the announcement of Donovan’s win, harping on the emphasis of voting in this midterm election.

“This election was about one four-letter word: vote,” Condos said during his speech. He believes the state’s voter turnout was 55 percent today — the highest of any midterm election. 69,000 early votes were cast, as opposed to 33,000 in 2014.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Christine Hallquist addressed the crowd, thanking supporters and volunteers for the arduous hours put in during the last six months. She admitted defeat with 82 percent of votes reporting in the state.

BENJY RENTON

“I’m very proud of the campaign we’ve run,” Hallquist said in her concession speech at the Burlington Hilton. “Phil is going to be very committed to the future of Vermont. We sparred well and I think Vermont is a beacon of hope of what democracy looks like.”

Hallquist began her campaign on March 2 and has been lauded by Democrats for supporting single-payer healthcare, the $15 minimum wage and paid family leave — all proposals Gov. Scott’s vetoed in the last few months

“

We sparred well and I think Vermont is a beacon of hope of what democracy looks like.”

— Christine Hallquist

Gov. Scott’s favorability dropped dramatically after passing stricter gun laws this past summer. However, he’s continued to be one of the most favored Republican governors nationwide. Vermont is one of the only states that often has split ballots. Many voters are willing to vote for a Republican governor, but Democratic senators and congressman.

BENJY RENTONHallquist gives her concession speech at the VT Dems event in Burlington.

Editor’s Note: Ruth Hardy is the spouse of Prof. Jason Mittell, The Campus’ academic advisor. Mittell plays no role in any editorial decisions made by the paper. Any questions may be directed to campus@middlebury.edu.

1:00 p.m.: Full of students, the sixth MiddVote shuttle of the day leaves Adirondack Circle for the polls.

COURTESY PHOTO

12:30 p.m.: Professor of Political Science Matt Dickinson reported “record turnout” at his weekly politics luncheon, where Dickinson analyzed the electoral landscape heading into today’s elections and made his own midterm predictions: a Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives, and an unchanged Republican majority in the Senate. Several boxes of pizza, courtesy of Model UN, may have contributed to the surge in attendance.